Living Among the Dead
by Moonpie4
Summary: This story is about a young woman names Ellie and her journey to survive the zombie apocolypse. (I know it's not much but I wanted to get it out there)


Living Among The Dead

Chapter One

It always starts the same, and ends the same. Snow covers everything in a thick blanket of white. The red light turns green and I push down on the gas pedal. I look to my left out of the window and see the semi-truck sliding straight toward me. I look behind me and see my son asleep in his car seat with his head sideways breathing softly. I reach for him and then everything goes black.

I open my eyes and all I can see is a blinding light. As my vision slowly focuses, I can see that I am in a hospital room. I try to sit up and a wave of pain shoots up my spine, forcing a shrill scream out of me. The pain takes my breath away, making me gasp for air. I look down at my chest and see I am in a gown. All I can taste is blood in my mouth. I panic and start to scream. An overweight nurse in pink scrubs rushes to my side and tells me everything is going to be all right and the doctor will be here soon to take care of me. I slowly nod my head and take a deep breath to calm down.

She grabs a damp rag and pats my forehead to wipe away the sweat. As I look at her face, I see that she has been crying. Her mascara was smeared and her eyes are red and puffy. I reach for her hand as she starts to turn away from me. She hesitantly looks back at me and I can see tears swelling in her eyes.

"What happened to me? Where is my son?" I ask trying to hold back the sobs in my throat.

She takes a deep breath and looks down at her feet. "Ma'am I am sorry but, you were in a terrible accident. Your spine has been fractured in several places and you will be prepped for surgery soon." She chokes back a sob and wipes a tear away before it can fall to the floor. "Your son…your son i-."

"Mary I will take it from here."

Mary jumps at the sound of his voice. She glances at me one last time and walks away. The doctor walks towards me and pulls the IV bag closer. He grabs an alcohol wipe and gently rubs the inside of my elbow. He avoids looking at my face as if he is afraid. After he cleans the area, he grabs the IV and inserts it into my arm.

"What is that for?" I ask nervously.

"It is a sedative to put you to sleep so we can begin the operation on your spine. The surgery will take up to four hours. Afterward we will place you in your room so you can rest. The estimated recovery time is around four weeks, but looking at your x-rays we may have to do multiple surgeries."

"Please tell me what happened to my son. Where is he? Is he OK?" I whimper.

He hesitantly looks at me and smiles sadly. "I am sorry to say this but, your son didn't make it."

-1-

"What? No, you are wrong! Where is he! What have you done with him! He's only 3 years old he can't be dead!" I scream frantic. I cry and cry and the harder I cry, the more it hurts. My head starts to swim and everything fades to black.

"Nolan!" Ellie cried out. She sat up quickly gasping for air. She always woke up out of breath and crying ever since the accident. It was as if she was stuck in a never-ending nightmare. Ellie wiped away her tears and flopped back onto her pillows, exhausted. She looked over at the clock and rolled her eyes, annoyed. It was almost 6 am, too early to start the day.

Just as she was about to fall back asleep her phone started ringing. Frustrated, she smacked her hands down on the bed and groaned. She rolled over on her side and checked the caller ID and saw it was the hospital calling.

"Hello? May I ask who is calling?"

"Sorry to have disturbed you but, is this Ellie Madison?" A man's voice asked.

"Yes, who am I speaking too?"

"My name is Jason Alexander; I was the doctor that performed all your spinal surgeries about 2 years ago".

"Oh, well what can I help you with?" She asked confused. What could he want after almost 2 years? Did she miss a payment on the medical bill?

"Well I know that you have been visiting my patient Allie and that you two have become quite close." He said nervously.

"Is she OK?" Ellie was scared. She knew Allie had a brain tumor removed a couple months ago and was told that she would have a full recovery and be released after the doctors were absolutely positive the tumor was gone.

"I am sorry, but her tumor has returned and it is even worse than before. I am afraid we will not be able to help her this time...she doesn't have much time left. I called because she asked about you and wanted to see you. I told her I would contact you to ask if you had time to come visit her."

Tears filled Ellie's eyes as she sat there in shock. "I will be there as soon as I can."

"I really am sorry Ellie. She is a friend of mine as well. See you soon."

Ellie threw the phone across her room and burst into tears. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve all the horrible things that happened in her? It just wasn't fair to her and it made her angry. Of all the people in the world, why her?

Unwillingly she got out of bed and walked to the shower. As she pulled off her shirt, she looked into the mirror examining her reflection. Her mother always told her she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Ellie did not agree. In her eyes, she was just a plain and ordinary girl with her pale freckled cheeks and auburn hair. The only thing that ever stood out to her, and everyone else for that matter, were her eyes. Ellie's left eye was brown and the other was a bright green. That always caused people to stare and she hated it. She swiped her bangs from her face and turned her back to the mirror, brushing her fingertips across the scar on her back. A

-2-

constant reminder of that horrific day that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She sighed and stepped into the shower. The hot water and steam always helped her relax, but she couldn't stop seeing Nolan's face. His bright green eyes, pink cheeks and hair the color of dark chocolate like his father.

Thinking about Nolan's father was painful as well. He had abandoned her when she needed him the most. He visited her quite often at first, but then he came less and less, and then not at all. After A few days of not hearing from him, she asked her nurse Mary if she had heard from him. Come to find out he was seen leaving with one of the nurses after his last visit. He left her to suffer and mourn alone. She had no one to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. When they first met in high school during their sophomore year, she thought he was the most beautiful guy she had ever seen. They had almost every class together, but it took her 3 months before she gathered up the courage to say anything to him.

Luckily, after the surgery she was roomed with Allie so she wouldn't be completely by herself. The two of them became close very quickly. Allie was a sweet and optimistic person who always knew how to cheer Ellie up. Ellie remembered the first time she saw Allie with her white golden hair, mossy green eyes and her pale porcelain skin. She looked like she had come from a dream or out of a story book. It didn't take long for them to become friends. They quickly bonded over each others unfortunate conditions and eventually, they started joking about it and that was all it took. Allie always knew how to make Ellie laugh whether it was a stupid joke or her making a face while the nurse was doing her check up. It was hard to believe that a person as sweet and kind as Allie was had to go through all of this misery.

After she dried herself, Ellie dressed herself in a pair of Grey skinny jeans, a plain black t-shirt and her favorite pair of red high top Converse. As she headed to the door, she grabbed her red hooded jacket and her black breathing mask, the one that nurses and doctors wear. Dr. Alexander said she would have to wear it from now on since all the surgeries she went through weakened her immune system. She wasn't a fan of it, but it was better than being sick all the time, and possibly dying. She grabbed her purple umbrella and left for the hospital.

The traffic was significantly worse that day. Instead of taking only 20 minutes, it took her almost an hour to reach the hospital. She never understood why a little rain made everyone drive like her grandmother. As soon as she arrived and found a place to park, Ellie walked quickly towards the doors in a hurry to see Allie. The hospital was busy as usual with people bustling about. Ellie waved to the woman at the front desk and waited for the elevator.

"No sweetie! I said you could only have your candy after your check up." A young blonde nurse said to her little boy.

He looked about Nolan's age, and for a minute, she thought he was him. The elevator dinged and Nolan disappeared. The elevator doors opened and there was her ex, Mitch. Her heart started pounding. She looked down at her feet hoping he wouldn't see her, but as fate would have it, he saw her anyway.

"Ellie is that you?" Mitch said surprised.

"Yes it's me Mitch." She said angrily. She could feel the anger rising in her. Today had to be the worst day in her life.

"How have you been?" he asked anxiously.

"Fine."

"Look I know I shouldn't have done what I did but, I was having a hard time too."

"I suggest you stop talking."

"Ellie, I am sor-."

"Just shut up!" she yelled on the verge of tears.

"Mitch do you know this woman?" The blonde nurse asked.

-3-

"Um, yea she is an old friend of mine." He tensed up immediately.

"Is everything alright?" She asked confused.

"Yea, we were just catching up."

The woman smiled at Ellie and reached her hand. "Hi I am Mitch's wife. My name is Emily."

"She is what?" Ellie thought. So, he left her for this tramp. Blonde with blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a skinny body. Ellie was furious, and she thought today couldn't get any worse. She noticed the little boy hiding behind her. "Is this your son?" She asked Emily.

"Well it's mine and Mitch's son. His name is Danny." She smiled.

Ellie looked at Mitch's face and saw the guilt and shame all over it. She couldn't hold it in anymore, it was too much. She screamed and pushed Mitch out of her way and stepped into the elevator. He was about to say something as the doors started closing. Ellie held up her fist and flipped him off. When the doors closed, she leaned back against the wall and tried to slow her breathing to calm down. She didn't want Allie to see her like this. Ellie wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. The elevator doors opened and she hastily made her way to Allie's room.

When she reached Allie's room she opened the door slowly and peeked in. Allie was asleep with her pink beanie hat on. Ellie tip toed in and sat on the stool next to the bed. She couldn't help but smile at how peaceful Allie looked. Ellie heard a soft knock on the door and got up to see who it was.

"Oh Hello Dr. Jason, she's asleep right now". Ellie whispered

"I know I just wanted to talk to you and see how things are going". He smiled

"Oh! Alright." She said puzzled. She gently closed the door behind her and followed the doctor to a quiet hallway.

"I just wanted to let you know that she may not make it past tonight. Whatever is happening to her it's killing her quickly. I also want you to know that I'm here for you and if you ever need anything, just tell me. You've had it rough these past couple years and I want to help out in any way possible."

Ellie couldn't help but hug him and start crying. She had felt so alone after Mitch left her. It was an overwhelming feeling to know that someone was willing to support her when no one else even lifted a finger, not even her family. She could feel the snot running down her lips and quickly turned away to wipe it off and not embarrass herself. Dr. Alexander walked in front of her and gently took off her mask.

"What are you doing? I'm suppose to keep that on right?"

"Well not all day. You can take it off for about 3 or 4 hours at a time, no more than that. I'm sure wearing that all the time is quite frustrating, plus you seem to be improving little by little. Maybe one day you won't have to wear it at all."

"You think so? That would be amazing! You should have told me this sooner though."

-4-

"I know, but I wanted to see if your body would improve or not and to my surprise it has. Well, I've kept you from Allie long enough. She should be awake now. I'll come check on you in a bit."

When she walked back into Allie's room Ellie saw she was watching TV. It lifted her mood to see her awake and breathing. Allie smiled immediately when she noticed Ellie coming in.

"Ellie you're here." She rasped. It sounded like she had almost lost her voice. Ellie couldn't help but notice the dark circles around her eyes. She looked like a corpse. From the way it looked, Allie would be gone before sunrise.


End file.
